Now That’s What I Call Weekender, Vol. Whatever

Haven’t done this in awhile, mainly because things have been slow and the bulk of the tidbits I might have included were the subjects of other posts. Anyway, some highlights (hopefully) and notes on tomorrow’s section, plus the latest edition of The Nekkid News:

Quotes

 “I thought I’d be armed just for protection” — Miranda Lambert, Friday’s musical star at the Stock Show & Rodeo, on getting a concealed-handgun license.

 “I saw all these people who were playing so well and I was completely in shock that I was even there with them … I thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t belong here.’ ” — pianist Joyce Yang, on a recent Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Yang, who plays with the symphony Friday and Saturday, got over it — she won the silver medal.

Etc.

 Maybe its the fact that the Super Bowl falls on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday that explains why this weekend is deader than usual, except for the rodeo. The Super Bowl basically pre-empts a night of live music and also scares big-studio movies away, since it potentially limits their opening-weekend take. And the start of Lent isn’t exactly party-hearty time.

Speaking of movies, I was actually sorta surprised to see four wide releases opening Friday. It figures that three aren’t being screened for critics and all three represent Super Bowl counter-programming — the Hannah Montana concert film for ‘tweens and reluctant parents, “The Eye” for horror fans and “Strange Wilderness” for fans of boys behaving badly. And the one film that was screened, “Over Her Dead Body,” fills the obligatory romantic-comedy slot

 Speaking of “Strange Wilderness,” just heard a radio ad that touts it as “from the guys who brought you ‘Grandma’s Boy.’ ” That lowbrow comedy, which opened in January 2006, also wasn’t screened in advance for critics, which explains a lot.

 Want more proof that the only movies that open on Super Bowl weekend are mediocre exercises in counter-programming? Last year, we got the poor chick flick “Because I Said So” and the horror yarn “The Messengers” (the latter a no-show, also a Super-weekend trend). Two years ago, we got the remake of “When a Stranger Calls” (another no-show) and the romantic comedy, “Something New,” which was actually pretty good and should have been held at least until Valentine’s Day.

Nekkid News:

Vol. 11, No. 4 includes these notes just in at the Nudity Desk:

 A field report on San Pedro Playhouse’s production of “The Full Monty” from Assistant Arts Editor Deborah Martin, whose review ran Tuesday in S.A. Life:

“The big question for those who haven’t seen the show is: Do they or don’t they take it all off?

“It appears that they do. The moment is staged the way it was in the touring production that played the Majestic Theatre in 2003, with the actors lit from behind by a bright light that casts them in silhouette as they yank off their tiny thongs. It’s also done quickly, so those with a prurient interest in the scene might be disappointed (though a swiftly-remedied wardrobe malfunction at Friday’s performance gave the opening night crowd an unexpected flash of flesh before the big finale).”

 One of the best things about compiling the weekly video calendar is running across some of the cheesier titles. Last Tuesday’s new releases included “Barn of the Naked Dead,” “Cloak & Shag Her” and “Playboy TV: Hot Babes Doing Stuff Naked” which rivals “Snakes on a Plane” for its truth in labeling.

 The subject line of an e-mail I got Tuesday startled me for a moment. It said, “Yang photos.” Then I snapped to and realized they were photos of pianist Joyce Yang (see above). Whew! Thought for a sec it was going to be back to those HR re-education classes …